Shadow in Serenity (19 page)

T
his reminds me of the restaurant where Ricky Ricardo used to sing in
I Love Lucy
reruns,” Carny said when they’d been seated at their table in what looked like an old-world opera house.

Logan admired the woman across from him rather than their surroundings. “Have I told you that Jason knew what he was doing when he picked out that dress for you?”

Feigning disgust, she looked at her watch. “Well, I’ve had it on for almost an hour now, and I haven’t had any proposals yet. This husband-hunting isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” She shifted in her seat, as if uncomfortable with his admiration. “Changing the subject — I’ve been thinking about my parents, and their threat to come to Serenity. What if they actually do it? What if they try to horn their way into the plans for the park?”

He thought for a moment. “Well, no offense, Carny, but I don’t think they fit the profile of the kind of employees I had in mind.”

She seemed relieved. “And what if they were to invest a big hunk of money?”

He stared at her for another moment, realizing that a week ago he might have taken it. But that was before the
park was legitimate … before he decided to turn his lies into truth. “I wouldn’t take it.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “Thank goodness.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I was testing you,” she said. “And miraculously, you passed.”

“Why? Your parents aren’t really coming?”

“Oh, they’re definitely talking about it.” She shifted in her seat. “You see, Brisco, even if the park is real, I’m still against it. I think it’ll change Serenity. But if it’s what the rest of the town wants, all I can do is try to make sure Serenity isn’t violated by it.”

“I realize that,” he said. “Which is why I’ve been thinking about a specific role for you in the park.”

“Oh, no. I don’t want anything to do with it.”

“You might want this,” he said. “I was thinking of making you the park commissioner. You could actually be in charge of maintaining the park’s integrity. Making sure you only have honest people working there, with only honest attractions, and that the park represents the best and cleanest … and sweetest aspects of Serenity.”

Her expression didn’t change noticeably. “That would make me a direct adversary of yours. As you built the park, I’d be second-guessing every step of it.”

“Aren’t we already? Frankly, I’m settling into the role.”

“You’ve got to be kidding. It would be like shooting yourself in the foot.”

“No, it would be like making sure I didn’t overlook anything. I’ll be busy, Carny, and things will get past me. I can’t think of anyone in the town who’d be better suited to sniffing out corruption. If I recommended you to the mayor, I’m sure he’d appoint you.”

She sat back and considered it. “But what about my airport?”

“That’s up to you,” he said. “You could keep running it, or turn it over to someone else to run. I’m not kidding about our expanding the airport. It’s got to be done.”

“That would take years and millions of dollars, Brisco. The kind of traffic you’re talking about would require a towered airport and longer runways.”

“Yours can already handle commercial-sized planes.”

“There’s a difference between a Learjet and a jetliner. And a difference between a municipal airport and a private one.”

“I’m just saying either you’ll upgrade it, or someone else will build one in another place, and they’ll be the ones to get rich. If I were you, I’d be the one to do it.”

“I’m not interested in being rich, Brisco. My parents have chased money all their lives, and it hasn’t gotten them anywhere.”

“I think you have stronger values, Carny. You could handle money, if you had it. You wouldn’t gamble it away on schemes and scams. And you’d have something to leave Jason.”

“I’m leaving Jason plenty,” she said. “Values, security, peace of mind, and memories of a happy childhood. Don’t you realize how valuable those things are?”

For a moment, his eyes grew serious, and he looked down at his food. “Actually, I do.”

She seemed to read his thoughts. “Me too,” she whispered.

The pianist started to play, lending an oddly romantic background to the conversation that had little to do with romance. “We’re so much alike, Carny. A lot more than you like to think.”

“I know.”

Their eyes locked in a startling merge of emotions.
Finally, Logan whispered, “Will you dance with me? You look too pretty not to be seen on the dance floor.”

Her smile was more satisfying than all the scams he’d ever pulled off, and getting to his feet, he took her hand and pulled her with him.

He didn’t know the tune the pianist played, and it didn’t matter. As if she’d always been his partner, as if he’d learned to dance with her, they moved across the dance floor with grace and finesse.

In the anonymity among the other dancers, they weren’t adversaries at all, but two people aware of the locked chambers of each other’s soul. Two people who were reaching an understanding.

He looked down at her, stricken by how beautiful she was, how special, how delicate. But she was also tough, like him … a survivor. A striver. A reacher. There wasn’t much in Carny’s life that would stand in the way of her getting the kind of life she wanted. Not even Logan.

He didn’t know if it was the music or the way she felt in his arms that compelled him to lower his lips to hers, but before he knew it, they had stopped dancing and stood motionless in the center of the dance floor, and he was kissing her again.

Carny seemed to free-fall into that kiss.

The song ended as their kiss broke, and Logan led her back to their table. As hard as he tried to get through the rest of the meal with his thoughts intact, he found that it was too late.

He had fallen hard, and he wasn’t sure he would survive it.

Country music spilled from the club in the hotel when the cab brought them back.

“Do you like country music?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Sometimes. Do you?”

“Sometimes,” he chuckled. “I saw you two-stepping like a champ at the town dance, but truthfully, I would have pegged you for the Led Zeppelin type.” Taking her hand, he said, “Come on. Let’s go in.”

He pulled her into the club, and they took a table at the back and looked across the crowd of people to the singer on the stage, doing his own rendition of a Clint Black song.

“He’s pretty good,” Logan said.

Nodding, Carny scanned the faces in the crowd, the way she’d always done as a child in the carnival. Her gaze landed on a man just coming in the door, a man with a cowboy hat and sunglasses. For a moment, the glasses snagged her attention, and she wondered why anyone would wear shades into a dark nightclub.

He slipped into the shadows near their table and seemed to scan the place for an empty table. But she and Logan had gotten the last one.

Suddenly she recognized him. “Eric Hart.”

“No, that’s a Clint Black song,” Logan said.

“No, Brisco,” she whispered. “Right there. That guy in the glasses. It’s Eric Hart.”

Logan looked up, squinting in disbelief. “It looks like him, but it can’t be him. What would he be doing here all by himself? He’s one of the biggest stars in country music.”

“I don’t know, but it’s him. Look how he stands. Look at that tattoo on his hand. That’s Eric Hart! He’s looking for a place to sit.”

Before she knew it, Logan had shot out of his chair and was shaking hands with the star. She watched, astonished and a little embarrassed, as he pointed to their table, then came back with Eric.

Carny stood up as they reached the table. “Eric, I’d like you to meet Carny Sullivan. Carny, Eric Hart.”

“Nice to meet you, ma’am. I hope I’m not intruding. Logan invited me to sit with you.”

“Of course,” she said, shooting Logan an incredulous look. “Do you two know each other?”

Eric laughed. “No, but I’ve got a feeling Logan doesn’t meet too many strangers.” He leaned forward and, in a low voice, said, “I’m surprised y’all recognized me. I was hoping to be discreet.”

“Oh, we won’t call any attention to you,” she assured him as he motioned to the waitress to bring him a drink. “What brings you to town?”

“Concert tomorrow night,” he said. “I like to get to town early, just to relax before all the madness starts.”

The band launched into a cover of one of Eric’s tunes, “Dreamscape.” Chuckling, he glanced back at the band. “Hey, that singer’s better than I am.”

Carny and Logan laughed with him as the song played on.

An hour later, Logan and Eric were deep in a conversation about the park, and Carny realized with chagrin that Logan was making a sales pitch to the star. That riled her. It wasn’t right, violating the man’s privacy to hit on him for money.

“We’ve been looking for a star to name the park after. You know, kind of like Dollywood. You’re just the caliber we’re looking for.”

With a forced smile, Carny nudged Logan. Had he forgotten about Roland Thunder? Logan set his eyes on the ceiling and waved his hand as if creating a banner. “I can see it now. Hartland.”

“Hartland?” Carny repeated, resisting the urge to stick her finger down her throat.

But Eric didn’t seem to find the idea silly. “I like it,” he
said. “An amusement park. Hmm. I never thought of that before. What kind of investment would I have to make?”

That’s it,
Carny thought.
Here’s where he nails him for the money.

“Well, that would be negotiable. The profit margin for you would be tremendous, because there would be licensing involved. The gift shops would be full of items related to Eric Hart and your better-known songs, and some of the rides could go along with your themes. It may work out that we don’t need any investment at all from you, if you agree to let us merchandise your name, in return for shares of the park.”

“Merchandising, huh?” Eric asked. “This is sounding better all the time. How long will you be in Houston?”

“We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow,” Logan said.

“Perfect. Can you meet with my agent and me tomorrow? Say, ten o’clock?”

“Sure,” Logan said.

“I’m in the penthouse here.” Fishing through his hip pocket, he pulled out a card. “Here’s the phone number so you can get through. Call before you come up, and I’ll make sure you don’t have any trouble getting in.”

“All right,” Logan said, shaking Eric’s hand. He stood up, looking at Carny. “You ready to go, Carny?”

“Yeah, it’s getting late,” she said. “It was great meeting you, Eric.”

“You, too,” he said. “We might be seeing a lot more of each other.”

As they left the club and went inside and across the hotel, Carny gave Logan a curious look. “How about that?”

“Talk about being in the right place at the right time.” The elevator doors opened, and they stepped in. “Do you realize what it could do for us if we could get a commitment from him? The investors would be calling
us!”

“I thought the investors
were
calling you. And what about Roland Thunder, and all that Thunder Road stuff? And the fact that the park would be bigger than Disney and put parks like Six Flags to shame?”

“Optimism,” Logan said. “Roland Thunder was always just a possibility; I may never have landed him. And now that I’ve met Eric, why not go with him? He’s a bird in the hand. I just never dreamed we’d have a shot at him.”

“Hartland,” she said as the doors opened. She stepped off. “Sounds a little corny, don’t you think?”

“Dollywood isn’t corny? Opryland isn’t corny? Even Disneyland is named after Walt Disney.”

They came to her door, and as she stuck her key card in the slot, he braced his hand above her head. She stopped and looked up at him.

When his lips grazed hers, she closed her eyes, her heart pounding out its erratic rhythm. Finally, she touched his chest and broke the contact of their lips. “You’re an interesting man, Logan Brisco.”

“Does that mean you’re interested?”

“It means I’m intrigued,” she whispered.

“Then surely you could let your guard down a little, just for tonight. Let me come in.”

“Oh, no,” she whispered. “The fact that I’m intrigued only makes me want to raise my guard higher.”

“You still don’t trust me?”

She smiled. “I think the problem is that I don’t really trust myself. You were right when you said that before, Logan. There’s too much at stake.”

Then, pressing another kiss on his jaw, she went in and closed the door behind her.

T
he next morning as they flew back to Serenity, Logan’s eyes were bright. Eric Hart’s interest had breathed even more life into his plans for the park, and despite herself, Carny was beginning to catch the vision.

“I need a lawyer,” he said into his mike.

“For what?” she asked.

“Someone to represent the park. We’ll need to start drawing up contracts soon.”

“Well, there are two lawyers in Serenity. Alan Robard is probably your best bet.”

“I know Alan. I’ll call him.”

“Doesn’t King Enterprises have their own attorneys?”

He was silent for a moment.

“Logan?” she prodded.

He didn’t look at her as he answered. “Yeah, about that. Turns out that King has reneged on the idea of building a park anywhere.”

“What?”

“Don’t crash!” he said, grabbing the yoke.

“I wasn’t going to crash.” She tried to refocus her thoughts on flying the plane.

“It’s okay. I gave them my resignation and told them I wanted to go ahead with the plans myself.”

“Logan, doesn’t that change everything?”

“Not really. I was the one raising the money, and I hadn’t turned any of it over to them yet. Once the new investors come to Serenity, I’ll explain it to them. Their relationship is with me, not with King Enterprises.”

She let that information sink in. King Enterprises had never returned her calls. “When did this happen?”

He sighed. “I’ve been getting hints of it for the past few days. Finally had to face the writing on the wall this morning. But it’s okay. We can still do all of it.”

She tried to breathe. Would he have admitted this if it was all a scam?

“So has Eric made a commitment?” she asked.

“He’s that far from it,” he said, holding up his thumb and forefinger. “He’s coming to Serenity next week, but it’s top secret, so don’t tell anybody.”

“And are the bankers top secret too?”

“I’d rather they were, until everything is nailed down.”

Something about the secrecy disturbed her. “You told us that Roland Thunder was almost committed, but he really wasn’t, was he?”

“Well, not totally.”

“So you were lying.”

“Not lying. I never claimed it was a done deal. Think of it as a card game, Carny. You’ve got some cards showing, and some hidden.”

“But your deck is stacked.”

He shot her an annoyed look. “What’s your point?”

“My point is that I think you used Thunder’s name to get others to invest. And then you used those investments to impress the bankers. Then you used the bankers to impress Eric Hart. And eventually, it has a snowball effect, but you
aren’t absolutely sure of any of the players, so you have to juggle it all very carefully.”

“So what’s wrong with my having faith in my juggling abilities? Carny, I’ve been juggling for a long time. I know how to make deals. I do it better than anyone I know.”

“What other deals have you put together?”

He hesitated. “Lots of them, okay?”

She kept her eyes on her instruments. “Name some.”

“I put together several big real-estate deals along the east coast. And I helped with the buyout of a major hospital in Kentucky.”

“What was the name of it?”

Aggravated, he glared at her. “What’s your point? Do you think I made up Gastineau and his bank? Do you think Eric Hart was just some actor I planted in that bar to convince you I’m aboveboard?”

“I think that you’re not above using dishonesty to reach a real goal.”

He shifted in his seat and adjusted his microphone. “It’s not easy putting together an endeavor like this, Carny. Not just anyone could do it. It takes a lot of wheeling and dealing, and you can’t go into a bank empty-handed and expect them to invest. You have to have other commitments from other investors. You have to have a plan.”

“It sounds an awful lot like what my parents do.”

“Don’t be such a cynic,” Logan said. “There’s a difference. Your parents take the money and run. If I do my job right, everybody who invests gets rich. I’m the man who has to convince everybody. It’s a good thing they’re not all as hard to convince as you. The bottom line is that nobody’s going to get hurt.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He met her eyes then. “Yeah, Carny, I am. I’m real sure. I need for you to believe me.”

For a moment, she only stared out the window, wishing …
hoping
that it was true. She wanted to believe, despite the doubts still whispering in her mind.

Over the next few days, Carny transported planeloads of bankers back and forth between Houston and Serenity, with Logan flying most of the time and logging his flight hours. She listened to the conversations over the headsets on the flights, and was amazed at how prepared Logan was to answer all their questions.

And when Eric Hart made his discreet flight into Serenity in his own plane, she realized that this might just turn into reality.

And Logan Brisco might be here to stay.

Carny had been home for a week before Joey reminded her of the picture she was supposed to have gotten in Houston.

“I got it,” she told him on the phone. “He stood right there like it was no big deal and let me take the picture.”

“Email it to me,” Joey said. “I need to get to work on this right away.”

She hesitated. “Joey, I really think I was wrong about him. He really is working on the park. It just looks too real to be a scam.”

“Hey, are you wimping out on me?”

“No,” she said. “I just … I feel guilty going behind his back trying to dig up dirt … if he does happen to be legitimate.”

“You’re really hung up on him, aren’t you? He’s worked his magic on you too.”

“No,” she said, though she knew her voice wasn’t as adamant as she would have liked. “I’m just getting to know him better.”

“And you trust him now?”

“I’m trusting him more,” she said.

“Well, for that little flicker of doubt you still have in the back of your mind, and for mine, could you just send me that picture?”

“Yeah. I’ll do it as soon as I get home.”

There was a long pause. “You don’t really want to know if he’s a crook anymore, do you?”

“I want you to tell me what you find out,” she said softly. “But I don’t think there’s a person in this town who wants to believe that Logan Brisco’s a crook.”

As soon as Carny got home from work, she shoved her camera’s memory card into her computer to email Joey the picture. But it wasn’t there.

She flicked through the images, but there was nothing of Brisco. How had that happened?

Her mind reeled through the possibilities as she called Joey back. It was just too coincidental. Yet it
was
a coincidence. It had to be, because the alternative was something she didn’t want to consider.

“Was Logan ever near your camera?” Joey asked her when she reported back to him.

“No, never. I must have just made a mistake. But I’ll try again. Jason’s birthday party is this weekend. I’ll be taking pictures of the kids, and I’m going to see if Logan will come. I’ll get him then.”

That evening, while Jason played at Nathan’s, she went to the Welcome Inn to extend the invitation. She could have called, but she wanted to see him. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, he was getting under her skin.

Logan looked tired when he answered the knock on his door, but his eyes lit up when he saw that it was Carny. “I was just thinking about you,” he said.

The greeting was like melting wax warming through her. “I came by to invite you to Jason’s birthday party. He’ll be eight on Saturday.”

Something changed in Logan’s eyes, and she would have sworn that he was profoundly moved by her invitation.

“Really?” he asked. “You want me there?”

“I wouldn’t invite you if I didn’t,” she said. “And Jason wants you there too. It’s at three o’clock.”

“I’ll be there.”

Another poignant moment passed between them, and a look so eloquent that it almost collapsed her. When he stepped closer to her, she didn’t back away. He came close enough that she could feel his warmth through his clothes, could breathe his breath as it swept across her lips. “I think you should know something, Carny,” he whispered, “only I don’t really know how to say it.”

“What?”

“Since I was little, my emotions have pretty much been on dim. But ever since I came into Serenity and met you, they’ve been as bright as I can stand. Maybe brighter. Sometimes it’s better to stay on dim. But I don’t think this is one of those times.”

Her eyes misted over, and when he leaned down and kissed her, she felt her own emotions bypassing bright and heading for explosive. Her mind was beginning to trust, and her heart was beginning to need, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t repress her feelings any longer.

That scared her to death. She couldn’t be here with him, this exposed, this emotional. Where would it lead?

“I … I have to go,” she whispered. “Jason’s at Nathan’s, and I said I wouldn’t be gone long.”

“You sure? I’ve missed you since we got back from Houston.”

She couldn’t return the admission. Not yet.

“It was nice spending so much time with you,” he said. “I don’t like not seeing you every day.”

“You know where I am,” she said with a smile. She looked around his hotel room, where stacks of papers covered every surface, and the blueprints for the park lay spread out on the floor. “Looks like you’ve been busy.”

“Yeah, I’ve been on the phone all week working with engineers, talking to owners of the land I want for the park, getting numbers together for the investors, working everything out.”

She told herself again that it was all real, that she wasn’t being scammed. “Maybe you need to rent some office space.”

“Yeah, I will when I have a minute to breathe.”

“So … you’ll take a minute to breathe on Saturday?”

He grinned down at her. “That’s more important than anything else I have going on,” he said, stroking her cheek. “I’ll see you Saturday.”

“Yeah.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “At three.”

Stepping back and taking her unruly emotions with her, she left his motel, suppressing the urge to run as fast as she could, either back to him, or far, far away.